French Door Installation cost at a glance
- Typical range: $1,600 – $3,200
- Most homeowners pay: around $2,400
- Prices vary most by: The door unit (55–65% of the budget)
Cross-checked against three published sources for this project. Sources used for this page: the Angi French door installation cost guide, HomeGuide's door installation and sliding glass door cost guides and Fixr's cost to install French doors guide. Sources last checked: October 2026 — HomeGuide, Fixr, Angi. Last updated October 2026 · How we calculate these costs
Cost by scope
| Scope | Typical cost | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Interior or single French door | $650 – $1,800 | The bottom of the ladder. HomeGuide totals a French door installed at $650–$5,600 with the door itself at $450–$4,500, its sliding-door guide prices French patio doors at $700–$1,800, and Fixr puts a professionally installed single exterior wood door at $736–$1,438 — a single or interior unit in a sound existing opening lives in this band. |
| Standard double French door, existing opening | $1,600 – $3,200 | The typical project on this page. Fixr's national average is $2,221 inside a $1,599–$2,976 average range, Angi's most-paid band is $2,000–$5,000 around a $3,500 average, and HomeGuide's material-plus-labor table covers the same ground — the overlap is a mid-range prehung double unit, hung, levelled and trimmed. |
| Custom, clad-wood or telescoping doors | $3,500 – $10,000 | Where the unit stops being a commodity. Angi prices custom French doors at $3,000–$10,000 and telescoping units at $1,500–$6,000, Fixr's luxury band runs $5,000–$15,000, and a new opening cut into a wall adds framing on top — HomeGuide prices that extra framing labor at $600–$1,200 for an exterior wall. |
Where the money goes
| Part of the job | Share | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The door unit | 55–65% | Angi prices French door materials at $500–$4,000 by material — vinyl $500–$2,000, wood $500–$4,000, fiberglass $800–$5,000, clad-wood $2,500–$5,500 — and HomeGuide prices the door alone at $450–$4,500, which is why the unit, not the labor, decides this budget |
| Installation labor | 15–25% | Angi prices French door labor at $140–$600 at $70–$120 per hour over 2–5 hours; Fixr's prehung labor runs lower, $56–$161 interior and $78–$302 exterior, because a prehung unit arrives in its frame — a quote above both ranges is usually pricing opening work, not hanging |
| Hardware, locks & glass upgrades | 8–12% | Angi prices a multipoint lock at $50–$200, decorative hardware at $50–$400 and low-E glass as a $350–$1,000 decision — on a pair of doors the lockset and glass package carry more weight than on any single door in the house |
| Framing, trim & finishing | 5–10% | Shimming, casing, threshold and paint: Angi prices painting or finishing a door at $150–$200 per side, and HomeGuide separates framing at $130–$380 when the opening needs work — in a sound existing opening this line stays small |
| Removal & disposal of the old door | 3–6% | Taking the old unit out and away: Mr. Handyman prices exterior door removal at $80–$200 and interior removal at $50–$80, and it is often bundled into a replacement quote, so ask whether it is a line or a courtesy |
What moves the price most
The material ladder is the budget. Angi's material table runs vinyl at $500–$2,000, aluminum at $650–$3,000, steel at $650–$4,000, wood at $500–$4,000, fiberglass at $800–$5,000 and clad-wood at $2,500–$5,500 — the same opening can carry a $900 unit or a $5,000 one. Interior is cheaper than exterior: Angi prices interior French door units at $400–$2,000 against $1,000–$4,000 exterior, because the exterior pair adds weatherstripping, a threshold and insulated glass. The opening decides the labor: a prehung swap is hours of work (Fixr prices prehung labor at $56–$302), while cutting or enlarging an opening adds HomeGuide's $600–$1,200 of exterior framing labor, or $400–$600 in an interior wall. Glass is the quiet upgrade: Angi prices double-pane glass at $700–$3,000 and triple-pane at $800–$5,000 across its door types, so the pane package can cost more than the hanging. Finally, configuration: Angi prices a single in-swing door at $300–$1,000 and double in- or out-swing units at $400–$4,000 before custom work — width is bought by the leaf.
Worked example: how a typical french door installation budget breaks down
A typical job: a mid-range prehung double French door set into the existing opening between a dining room and a patio — old unit out, new unit hung, levelled and latching cleanly, hardware fitted, interior trim restored and the threshold sealed against weather. The budget below totals $2,400 — the "most homeowners pay around" figure from the top of this page — split using this page's own cost breakdown. It shows how a real quote at that level is usually composed; every line is built from the ranges on this page, and it is an illustration, not a quote for your project.
| Line item | Example budget |
|---|---|
| Prehung double French door unit (mid-range, double-pane glass) | $1,488 |
| Installation labor | $360 |
| Lockset, handles & glass upgrade allowance | $240 |
| Framing touch-up, trim & finishing | $192 |
| Removal & disposal of the old door | $120 |
| Total | $2,400 |
What most people get wrong
- Buying two slab doors to save money, then paying carpentry rates to mortise hinges and fit a meeting stile — Fixr's $211 low end is a DIY slab figure, and its professionally installed range starts where prehung units live.
- Forgetting the swing: a pair of 30-inch leaves needs roughly five feet of clear floor arc, and a door that hits the dining table was measured once, not twice.
- Securing a double door with a single latch — Angi prices a multipoint lock at $50–$200, and on an exterior pair it is the difference between a door that seals and a door that rattles.
- Comparing an interior quote with an exterior job — Angi prices interior units at $400–$2,000 and exterior units at $1,000–$4,000, so the two numbers were never the same product.
Costs in your city
French door pricing is a shipped unit plus local hanging labor: Angi prices the labor at $140–$600 at $70–$120 per hour, so the same prehung pair installs near the bottom of the band in the interior of the country and well above it in coastal metros, while the unit price barely moves. Housing stock is the local multiplier — older homes bring openings that are out of square, and squaring one is carpentry time on top of hanging time. Where a new opening is wanted, HomeGuide prices the framing labor at $600–$1,200 for an exterior wall and $400–$600 for an interior one, before permits. Ask each bidder whether the price assumes a prehung unit in the existing opening; that one answer explains most of the spread between quotes.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to install French doors?
Most homeowners pay $1,600–$3,200 for a standard double French door installed in an existing opening, with $2,400 typical. Fixr's national average is $2,221, Angi's most-paid band is $2,000–$5,000 around a $3,500 average, and HomeGuide's installed span for French doors is $650–$5,600 — interior singles land at the bottom, custom and clad-wood units at the top.
How much is labor to install French doors?
Labor is the smaller half of this job. Angi prices it at $140–$600, at $70–$120 per hour over 2–5 hours, while Fixr prices prehung installation labor at $56–$161 for interior doors and $78–$302 for exterior doors. Labor jumps only when the opening itself is being cut, widened or re-framed.
Are interior French doors cheaper than exterior ones?
Yes, clearly. Angi prices interior French door units at $400–$2,000 and exterior units at $1,000–$4,000, because an exterior pair needs insulated glass, weatherstripping, a drained threshold and a lockset that secures the meeting stile — an interior pair is furniture-grade carpentry by comparison.
Can French doors replace a sliding patio door?
Usually, yes — a standard sliding door and a double French door share similar rough-opening widths, so the swap is often a same-opening replacement that lands in the standard $1,600–$3,200 band. The checks are swing clearance inside the room, the threshold height, and whether the existing frame and header are sound enough to keep.
How long does it take to install French doors?
A prehung double unit in a sound existing opening is a 2–5 hour job per Angi's labor figures — one installer, one visit. Cutting a new opening, re-framing or fitting a custom or telescoping unit turns it into a one-to-two-day project with trim and finish work after the hanging.
